These “rogue waves,” as they’re called, can reach nearly 100 ft high, and have a devastating impact on anything unfortunate enough to get in their way.

Rogue Waves in the Bermuda Triangle

Curiously, rogue waves were once thought to be mythical, but over time their existence proved more and more likely. On New Year’s Day 1995, the Draupner Wave event removed all doubt, when a towering 85 ft “freak” wave struck the Draupner E oil platform in the North Sea, off the coast of Norway.

Let’s just say they weren’t expecting that.

As for the existence of rogue waves within the Bermuda Triangle, this isn’t exactly a new idea. However, the method of the Southampton researchers might be — in their lab, they constructed a model of an ill-fated ship, the USS Cyclops, and threw a simulated rogue wave at it to study the effects. How would it fare?

The real USS Cyclops, named after the giants of Greek mythology, vanished in March 1918, during a voyage through, you guessed it, the Bermuda Triangle. It was a large ship, 542 feet long, with a crew of about 306.

When it first disappeared, along with its entire crew, many believed the ship had been sunk, perhaps by a German submarine. However, this was denied, and in truth its ultimate fate remains a mystery, even 100 years later.

Back in the lab, the Southampton researchers watched their model ship meet its own unfortunate end — it couldn’t withstand the towering simulated wave. Is this what happened to the USS Cyclops?

It’s certainly possible — the area of the Bermuda Triangle is home to strong currents from the Gulf Stream, and it’s not uncommon for it to “see three massive storms coming together from different directions,” according to ocean and earth scientist Dr. Simon Boxall.

Such coalescing storms, he says, make “perfect conditions” for rogue waves.

Without A Trace

While many articles are saying this new study “solves” the Bermuda Triangle problem, there are more than a few holes in using rogue waves as a singular explanation. For one, how do we explain planes flying higher than 100 feet? How about the reported electrical malfunctions?

The paranormal explanations for activity within the Bermuda Triangle are many, as well. They range from disruptions in the electromagnetic field, to the result of a Vile Vortex, or even strange Atlantean technology interfering with passing vessels.

Perhaps those ships and planes have been whisked off into another dimension! We’ll never see those again.

Skeptics, meanwhile, question if there’s really anything particularly odd about the Bermuda Triangle at all. Statistically, it’s not much different from any other area in the ocean, as far as disappearances and malfunctions are concerned.

However, perhaps it’s the mysterious nature of the experiences themselves — reports of bright lights, strange mists, even UFOs — that makes the Bermuda Triangle stand out above all the others.